Jo's Journey by S. E. Smith Page A

next to it. They were going to call an ambulance but when they mentioned it, she freaked out and tried to crawl away before she passed out. Walter decided she would be safer coming with us.”
    Manota looked down at the pale face. “She looks young. Do you think she has family? I could have Kev return her to your world and meet back up with us.”
    Jo jerked in surprise when she felt Jane ’s fingers tighten on hers. She turned her gaze back to the young girl only to see the terror in the honey colored brown eyes staring back at her. She didn’t say anything but her lips trembled as if she wanted to protest. She tightened her grip on Jo’s hand when Jo would have pulled it away.
    “ No,” Jo said softly, held by the pleading gaze locked on her. “No, I think she should stay with us. I think she needs a new start. Somewhere where she can be safe.”
    Jane ’s eyes shimmered with tears but only a single one spilled to trail down the side. Her lips curved in a grateful tilt as she slowly broke her gaze to look up at Manota. She gasped and tried to move, as if to run.
    “ It’s alright,” Jo said soothingly. She stood up and leaned over Jane, gently brushing her hair away from her face. “This is my mate, my husband. He would never hurt you. No one on this warship would hurt you.”
    Jane reluctantly looked back up at Jo before she frowned and looked around her, as if realizing for the first time that she was not in a hospital. Her puzzled gaze swiveled back to Jo. Her eyes full of questions.
    “Can you tell me who you are? Where you came from? What happened to you?” Jo asked softly.
    Jane vigorously shook her head from side to side. She stopped in surprise and raised her hand to touch her head. Her fingers slowly traced her face as if she was searching for the cuts and bruises that had covered it before she arrived. She pulled her hand from Jo ’s and touched her neck then raised her arms up to look at them in the dim light. Her eyes widened as she saw the unmarked skin and realized that her arm no longer hurt fiercely.
    Her eyes turned to Manota and she stared at him with such a look of wonder and awe that he shifted uncomfortably. He looked at Jo and shrugged his broad shoulders. She opened her mouth but all that came out was a shuddering gasp before she began to silently sob.
    “It will be alright, little one,” Manota said quietly.
    He watched as Jo scooted onto the bed next to the fragile girl and began rocking her. He turned as Shavic hurried into the room. With a slight nod, he stood back as Shavic pressed an injector against the girl ’s neck. Within moments, her sobbing lessened and she leaned heavily against Jo before Jo carefully laid the girl down and drew the covers back over her.
    “ She’ll sleep for several hours,” Shavic replied in a low tone. “She has suffered a severe trauma. Even though I was able to heal her physical wounds, I do not know how deep the mental ones have gone.”
    “ What do you think happened to her?” Manota asked, looking at Shavic.
    Shavic shrugged his shoulders. “It was obvious she had been severely beaten. She had several fractured ribs, a broken wrist and a concussion. Scans showed that she’d had several breaks in the past that were not set correctly. I had to re-break some of the worse ones and regenerate the bone, otherwise she would have had difficulty later in life. She also had numerous scars along her back, arms and legs. I was able to smooth most but not all of them,” he replied grimly. “It is hard for me to accept that such a fragile creature should have been treated like that.”
    “ Was… was she sexually assaulted,” Jo asked hesitantly, unsure if she could stand the thought of the delicate girl lying there so silent having suffered such a fate.
    “ No, I don’t believe so,” Shavic responded. “The scans indicate she has never been sexually active.”
    “ How old do you think she is?” Manota asked, still uncomfortable with taking a